Five Quick Tips for Handling Animals with “Group” Mentality
Macaw flock at the Island Parrot Sanctuary
Evolutionarily speaking, gathering in numbers is advantageous for everyone. Predators don’t know who to munch first unless their prey is noticeable, and thus, the fittest animals survive while the weak and sick get eaten. Parrots, dogs, and horses all find security in their groups, and tend to not like being separated from them.
I work on a farm with 1,500lb horses who all have the capacity to kill me – even though they are all wonderful animals. As ...
Using Your Energy When Working with Birds
African Grey
Energy is very important to parrots and how they react to us. Our birds can sense our every mood change, reading both your body language and the way you look to them in UV. They can perceive many more colours than we can, and – as the Island Parrot Sanctuary once put it to me – because of that, they know you better than you know yourself. They can see your mood.
One of the things I try and do with new or ...
Why Social Dominance Theory Does Not Apply To Flocks
Aggressive Senegal Parrot
Dogs and parrots are very different creatures, but as humans, we often try to draw comparisons to their behaviour. Canines being a creature that most everyone has had experience with, a lot of owners will try to draw connections.
For instance: The theory of height dominance. The idea is that birds move up high to try and ‘one-up’ their people.
First, let’s look at a parrot’s motivation for climbing up out of reach. A bird ...